GREAT explanation by Darling & Anderson of the play at the plate involving Culbertson, Schwarber & Contreras and they were right about everything including that it's a ridiculous rule and Culbertson should have been out (even tho the reversal on review was correct based on the current rule). That just sucks. The new rules around 2nd base are bad enough but this one is just wrong imho.

beantownbubba wrote:GREAT explanation by Darling & Anderson of the play at the plate involving Culbertson, Schwarber & Contreras and they were right about everything including that it's a ridiculous rule and Culbertson should have been out (even tho the reversal on review was correct based on the current rule). That just sucks. The new rules around 2nd base are bad enough but this one is just wrong imho.

The call was absolutely correct by rule,it was absolutely wrong by the interests of great baseball. To legislate out an athletic, exciting play like that one that had nothing to do with the Posey play that begat the rule is just stupid.

where's Mudcat Grant when you need him?

Tequila Cowboy wrote:

beantownbubba wrote:GREAT explanation by Darling & Anderson of the play at the plate involving Culbertson, Schwarber & Contreras and they were right about everything including that it's a ridiculous rule and Culbertson should have been out (even tho the reversal on review was correct based on the current rule). That just sucks. The new rules around 2nd base are bad enough but this one is just wrong imho.

The call was absolutely correct by rule,it was absolutely wrong by the interests of great baseball. To legislate out an athletic, exciting play like that one that had nothing to do with the Posey play that begat the rule is just stupid.

I didn't have a rooting interest in that game, but I feel differently. There's a pretty strong case to be made that the "athletic play" that would have happened under the old rule is that Culberson blows up Contreras with a full head of steam, with a fairly high probability that at least one of them ends up in the hospital. You can't give the catcher the ability to block the plate with no corresponding maneuver for the runner to employ.

Now, you can say you miss those collisions, and that's a logically consistent viewpoint. But the play that happened (shinguard out, polite slide with a hand jabbing for the plate) isn't necessarily the one that would have happened pre-rule, so I don't think we can act like it is.

Personally, I don't miss those collisions at all; I hated watching a non-contact sport turn brutal at random intervals because, what, one guy is wearing pads?

I also realize that collisions are still allowed under very specific circumstances, but I think a lot of the rule change's efficacy has hinged on changing the runner's mindset. If you just slide, there's no way you can be found in violation. I think a few years ago, Culberson's mindset coming around third is "let's do this," which I would argue is worse for the game than a few of these instances where we have to make a judgment about whether the ball took the catcher into the runner's path, etc.

tl;dr: Good call, good rule.

https://deadspin.com/john-lackey-should ... 1819503434

check out the video of Lackey taking 5 minutes to make 6 pitches (it is at 500x speed)

There's gold in the comments section:

- If he (Lackey) were really tough he’d have the strength to keep his mouth closed

- I’ve always thought he (Lackey) was a dead ringer for Sloth from The Goonies.

- it took him five whole minutes to throw six pitches.

Obviously, the Dodgers don’t offer fried chicken and beer in the visitor’s clubhouse…

- Took him less time to leave his breast-cancer ridden wife

What the heck? I thought the Astros were supposed to be good. That was quite a collapse this evening. It's not like the Yankees are chumps, but still...

Is it the Theo effect that's causing the Cubs to imitate the Red Sox: no hitting, no timely hitting, and pitching that just ain't good enough for the occasion.

Are the Astros a product of their division? Did Dallas all of a sudden forget how to pitch? Were Reddick and the other guy really that intimidated by the NY crowd? So much so a foul gesture is alleged to have been shown? I have no idea, never expected this kind of play this season but Yanks/Dodgers is awfully appealing. Still cannot root for any Madden led team.

In non-playoff news, I really like the Ron Gardenhire hire by the Tigers. Think he can at the very least get them on the right track back to contending.

Sterling Bigmouth wrote:In non-playoff news, I really like the Ron Gardenhire hire by the Tigers. Think he can at the very least get them on the right track back to contending.

I like Gardehire but I’m a little surprised by the move considering I certainly assumed they were heading into a full rebuild. He’s good with young talent but they’ll have to acquire those in trade and in the draft over the next 5-6 years. If they’re thinking of retooling it’s misguided. They need to break that down to the foundation.

Forgot to mention that incredibly bizarre and at least as I saw it inexplicable change of the call on Granderson's alleged foul tip in game 4. It didn't ultimately affect the outcome but it was imho a truly brutal car wreck of a chain of events.

Dodgers are looking strong, no doubt about that.

No surprise really but Dusty Baker out as manager of the Nationals.

Tough to repeat, hasn't been done since 2000 (only 6 repeats since 1960, if my cipherin' is correct, including two 3peats[A's and Yankees]).

That said, I did not see L.A. taking the Cubs to the woodshed like that. I could have bought either team winning the series, but I never thought the Dodgers would go all Deebo on the Cubs. Still, it's been a helluva 3-year run and there's no reason to think it won't continue next season. And they'll almost certainly be rid of Lackey, so they have that going for them

On a different note, did y'all enjoy last night's sports equinox* (only the 17th time it's occurred)?

*=a sports equinox occurs when all four major U.S. sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB — play at least one game on the same day.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/th ... -the-year/

Tequila Cowboy wrote:

Sterling Bigmouth wrote:In non-playoff news, I really like the Ron Gardenhire hire by the Tigers. Think he can at the very least get them on the right track back to contending.

I like Gardehire but I’m a little surprised by the move considering I certainly assumed they were heading into a full rebuild. He’s good with young talent but they’ll have to acquire those in trade and in the draft over the next 5-6 years. If they’re thinking of retooling it’s misguided. They need to break that down to the foundation.

Agree 100%. Tigers are a long, long way from being competitive.

The World Series! Kershaw & Keuchel!

A good excuse for sneaking out early from a charity dinner, don't you think?

beantownbubba wrote:The World Series! Kershaw & Keuchel!

A good excuse for sneaking out early from a charity dinner, don't you think?

Unfortunate that we probably won’t get a Kershaw-Verlander matchup in this series. Verlander hasn’t quite been at his best in a while (which isn’t a slight, he is still great) but he’s having a hell of a postseason.

if you restrict 'in a while' to '2017 playoffs' i would disagree. he's been absolutely dominating.

Joe Girardi out as Yankees skipper.

Tequila Cowboy wrote:Joe Girardi out as Yankees skipper.

10 years is a long run in NY

Huh, hate the Yankees, but I always liked Girardi ever since he won Manager of the Year with the Marlins a while back.

This is fascinating to me. I have heard speculation that it could have been a difference in strategy regarding the highly analytics-driven front office and Girardi's propensity to override metrics with feel of the game. I'm not saying that it is the wrong move, as I believe that Brian Cashman is pretty smart baseball guy. But I wonder who is on the short list for Girardi's successor. It's clearly a team on the rise, but they arrived a year or two ahead of schedule. The Yankees are going to be good for a long time, however young players tend to take a step back and struggle at times. With the lofty expectations that were created this year, it will take a strong-willed, dynamic person to handle those expectations with the fans and in the media. I understand making the change to a different voice for the next likely fruitful chapter in Yankees baseball. I understand not wanting to disrupt the continuity of a squad that will supplement their homegrown talent with blue chip free agents beginning in 2018. But I'm incredibly intrigued about who that person is? The Yankees analytical approach in the front office seems to parallel Theo/Jed/Cubs approach in many ways. Davey Martinez has been Joe Maddon's right hand man since Tampa and is very familiar with taking analysis from front office staff and translating it to the coaching strategy. David Ross obviously was seemingly a player/coach in Maddon's staff for the World Series in 2016. He also played for the Yankees for a time. There are likely a slew of others. I'd stay away from Brad Ausmus. I wouldn't even mention Dusty Baker's name. But who is the next guy? It's a crucial hire.
Ballsy move by Cashman, with only one year remaining on his contract. I respect people with that level of testicular fortitude.

I'm also fascinated to know the ripple that will take place in other organizations as a direct result from this parting of the ways. The list is short in managers I'd prefer to manage my team instead of Girardi. I'd prefer only Terry Francona, Bruce Bouchey, and Joe Maddon. Obviously short of an epic World Series blunder you can rule out David Roberts and AJ Hinch whose clubs are playing in the fall classic. I would have to imagine that almost every other front office is at least calling a meeting with their support staff to subtly discuss the possibility of an under the radar phone call to gauge interest.

Been meaning to ask this for some time:

many teams employ a shift for left-handed batters in which all infielders EXCEPT one are to the right-field side. Instead of simply moving each infielder to his left and having the third baseman as the only defender on the left side, most teams have the third baseman move to the right-field side of second base, leaving the shortstop as the sole defender on the left side. Is this simply because the shortstop typically has more range/better arm than most third basemen?


One more: anyone know what becomes of the balls that an umpire removes from play? Seems like a lot of people would pay a lot for a ball that saw action in a WS/playoff game

Glad to see my fellow T.C. Roberson High alum Cameron Maybin getting some play in the World Series. He is from the same neighborhood in which I grew up; in fact, his parents still live there, just a few streets over from my parents. Surprised that they have stayed in the neighborhood, as while it is solidly middle-class, it's definitely fading. I was already living in CA when he was a high school star and prize prospect, but I've always kept an eye on his career. Too bad he has been injured for most of his time in the bigs, a lot of scouts/pundits had him pegged as a perennial all-star

He isn't the only TCR grad to have played in the bigs: I graduated in 84/was friends with Darren Holmes, who had played from 1990-2003 and was on that stellar 1998 Yankees squad.

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:

One more: anyone know what becomes of the balls that an umpire removes from play? Seems like a lot of people would pay a lot for a ball that saw action in a WS/playoff game

In many parks, at least some of those balls make it the gift shop where they are sold the same day or the next day to the teeming masses, usually on some sort of display that includes a description of the play in which the ball was used. I was in KC this summer and saw prices that ranged from $75 to $150 for an authentic game-day ball. I assume that many of the balls are also recycled for batting practice, etc.

Mr. B wrote:

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:

One more: anyone know what becomes of the balls that an umpire removes from play? Seems like a lot of people would pay a lot for a ball that saw action in a WS/playoff game

In many parks, at least some of those balls make it the gift shop where they are sold the same day or the next day to the teeming masses, usually on some sort of display that includes a description of the play in which the ball was used. I was in KC this summer and saw prices that ranged from $75 to $150 for an authentic game-day ball. I assume that many of the balls are also recycled for batting practice, etc.

more or less what I imagined. Was pretty certain they were most likely monetized and not given away to local junior baseball leagues, etc.

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:Glad to see my fellow T.C. Roberson High alum Cameron Maybin getting some play in the World Series. He is from the same neighborhood in which I grew up; in fact, his parents still live there, just a few streets over from my parents. Surprised that they have stayed in the neighborhood, as while it is solidly middle-class, it's definitely fading. I was already living in CA when he was a high school star and prize prospect, but I've always kept an eye on his career. Too bad he has been injured for most of his time in the bigs, a lot of scouts/pundits had him pegged as a perennial all-star

He isn't the only TCR grad to have played in the bigs: I graduated in 84/was friends with Darren Holmes, who had played from 1990-2003 and was on that stellar 1998 Yankees squad.

He was really solid for the Tigers last year, but seemed to be injured more often than not. But how did you miss that he is the cousin of ex-Tar Heel great Rashad McCants? You of all people should know that.

Mr. B wrote:

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:Glad to see my fellow T.C. Roberson High alum Cameron Maybin getting some play in the World Series. He is from the same neighborhood in which I grew up; in fact, his parents still live there, just a few streets over from my parents. Surprised that they have stayed in the neighborhood, as while it is solidly middle-class, it's definitely fading. I was already living in CA when he was a high school star and prize prospect, but I've always kept an eye on his career. Too bad he has been injured for most of his time in the bigs, a lot of scouts/pundits had him pegged as a perennial all-star

He isn't the only TCR grad to have played in the bigs: I graduated in 84/was friends with Darren Holmes, who had played from 1990-2003 and was on that stellar 1998 Yankees squad.

He was really solid for the Tigers last year, but seemed to be injured more often than not. But how did you miss that he is the cousin of ex-Tar Heel great Rashad McCants? You of all people should know that.

Oh, I knew that, but Rashad was from a rival high school so didn't fit in the theme. Rashad has been a real character, to say the least. On top of all the wacky shit he's done, you'd have a hard time finding a player at that level who did less with his talent than McCants. All the ability in the world but also a top shelf headcase and supposedly lazy as fuck

I haven't had a chance to read anything about it, but I'm really surprised by the Yankees sacking Girardi. What more was he supposed to have done?

beantownbubba wrote:I haven't had a chance to read anything about it, but I'm really surprised by the Yankees sacking Girardi. What more was he supposed to have done?

Rumor is that he “lost” the clubhouse

David Ortiz and a microphone is a crime against humanity